It is well known to provide a vehicle body roof panel having a roof opening which is selectively opened and closed by a sunroof panel. Such sunroof panels are conventionally operated by a track assembly which moves the closure panel fore and aft between a closed position and an opened position.
U.S. Pat. 4,403,805 is an example of the prior art sunroof mechanisms in which the sunroof panel is mounted for fore and aft movements by tracks which are mounted on the vehicle body on each side of the sunroof opening to guide and support the sunroof panel during the fore and aft movement. The sunroof is moved fore and aft by a push/pull cable.
As an alternative to the use of a push/pull cable to move the sunroof fore and aft, the prior art has also suggested the use of a rotary shaft having one end driven by a motor and fixed on the roof and the other end connected to the sunroof by a nut so that rotation of the shaft by the motor would drive the sunroof panel fore and aft.
The present invention provides a new and improved linkage for connecting a rotary drive shaft to a sunroof panel.